hmc cabana and butler packages

[sunflowerstarr]

just out of curiosity who would the butlers be? is it part of the actual cruise ship crew or would it be workers that come in for the day? and is it possible for you to not be able to book on the ship? like for them to be "out" of them for lack of a better term? we definitely want one but were not quite ready to book. just wanna know if theres any pressing reason to book now or if its safe to wait. thanks

[crystal808]

If the cabanas have been "opened" for your sailing, chances are they're gone. They go quickly, because there are so few. I would imagine there will always be "butlers" available for each cabana; I believe they are crew members who "work" them. They can be added later, even on-board, but if you don't have a cabana, it won't make any difference!

Paul

[Randyk47]

Paul is correct. If you wait until you get on the ship to get a cabana it probably won't happen, the cabanas typically sell out over the HAL website well before the cruise. Yes, not always, there'll always be exceptions. We had a cabana, booked months before the cruise, on our last cruise. I think, though I didn't check, we could have added a butler pretty much up until a day or so before. We were asked about 3 days out what we wanted in our cabana in terms of drinks (water, soda, etc) and had the pick of a limited choice of snacks and, as I recall, there was the option to ask for a butler. We didn't do the butler and got along just fine. Since the butler comes to your cabin on the ship and escorts you to your cabana I'd have to say he/she comes from the ship crew.

[Green4me]

How much are they?

Thanks

[Randyk47]

As I remember the cabana was $219 and the butler service was an additional $279. I could handle....mentally at least....the cabana charge but not the butler. We would/will do the cabana any time we stop at HMC but not ready to go the extra for the butler.

[Frogs]

A cabana is $219 (I think) and the Butler package is $270. This is for up to 4 people. Over 4 people costs additional.

Blessings!

[sunflowerstarr]

i got the taupe cabana as soon as i realized they were open. i was just more curious about the whole butler thing. it is 219 for up to four in the cabana and 270 for up to four with the butler upgrade. my friend and i got a 200 obc (not applicable to the cabana itself since we booked in advance) but we can use it towards the butler upgrade and we might have another couple join us so that cheapens the cost. i just was wondering where they came from and sinc eit sounds like itsx not a problem we will wait either till we are on the ship or until its a bit closer to the departure before we book. thanks!

[willowoodf]

We had the butler for our cabana on our cruise last December and I have to say, IT WAS WONDERFUL! We ended up with 6 people in our cabana (not crowded at all) and so we split the cost over 6, so it wasn't bad. We were SO PAMPERED and it was SO GREAT! If you aren't drinkers, I don't know if you would get the entire benefit from it, :D but we had champagne and lots of other drinks all day and it was great.

Our butler was a waiter from the Pinnacle Grill. His boss from the Pinnacle Grill came by to check on our cabana and how he and us were doing. We actually had several officers come by our cabana throughout the day.

I think I will always remember that cabana experience as one of funnest times of my life!!

Mary

[sunflowerstarr]

lol we are definitely drinkers which is why we wanted it mostly. that and the three course picinic lunch brought to us. no worries about waiting in line especially since theres another ship in hmc that day. plus i may not get to splurge like this again. settled for a inside cabin so i could save money for shopping and the ports. speaking of ive been reading a lot of threads about tipping, im assuming there should be no need here since we are payin speficially for those services? did you guys tip? just trying to have everything planned as best as possible! glad to hear it was worth it!

[Frogs]

This will be our first time in the Cabana and on HMC but from reading other post, other cruisers have mentioned that they tipped both the cabana attendants (or as I say my cabana 'boy') :o

They also have mentioned something about tipping the butlers.

I'm sure someone will stop by and provide assistance. You could also search for more information either here in HAL or on the excursion pages for HMC.

Enjoy your cruise and cabana! I know we will!

Blessings!

[Green4me]

Thanks for the info on pricing. Is there any significance to the color of the cabana or just a way to identify which one you havereserved? Is it better to be at one end of the beach than the other?

Thanks for the advice.:)

[Randyk47]

Green - The color scheme serves a number of purposes. One, it is the Caribbean and folks naturally think of bright, crisp colors. Secondly, it's easier just to rent by color than it is say by number. For the most part the cabanas are exactly alike in terms of construction, layout, etc. Location is important for folks as some want to be closer to the support facilities and therefore want the cabanas closer to the beginning of the beach area while others want to be away from that end in the relatively more private cabanas.

[Green4me]

Thanks for the info. Looking forward to our first trip to HMC in December.

[Randyk47]

HMC is fantastic and hopefully you'll love it. Even though our next HAL cruise is in the Caribbean it won't be going to HMC. Other than our very first HAL cruise, before HMC was developed, this will be the first time we've been on HAL and not gone to the island. A bit sad but since we're on a 14-day cruise I guess I'll find a way to get over it. :rolleyes:

[bruce-r]

Is there any significance to the color of the cabana or just a way to identify which one you havereserved? The cabanas are as follows starting closest to Welcome Center and going farther away:
Taupe
Blue
Turquoise
Orange
Light Blue
Purple
Pink
Green
Yellow
Terra Cotta.

There is also a new Peach cabana that is somewhere in the middle. The choice of location will depend on several things. Proximity to a restroom, the Food Pavillion, and desire for privacy.

[Green4me]

Thanks again Randy and Bruce, we just officially booked the cruise today with deposit and I was able to book the Taupe cabana so first in from the pier. It was that or last in line. I defaulted for closer as we like to be where the action is ;)

Sunflowerstar, I like the way you think on the buttler package :) It will be a hard option not to choses as we too have two ships in port that day so it will be crowded I am sure.

All the Best

[Randyk47]

All the best to you Green and your cruise. You'll really enjoy the cabana....we're spoiled for sure now and will probably always try to get one when we go to HMC.

Noticed you're from Tampa area. Any recommendations for a good to great hotel near the cruise terminal? Our Veendam cruise is out of Tampa and it's been years.....make that ages....since I lived even close to Tampa. (Actually, lived in Zephyrhills back in the 60's.) Obviously not our first cruise out of Florida but certainly the first out of Tampa.

[sunflowerstarr]

hey green when ya gonna be there. im in the taupe cabana as well lol guess great minds think alike eh? it was either that or the pink and i figured my friend could feel more manly with taupe than pink! lol anyways have a good trip!

[debjo]

For bruce-r...
According to what the HAL rep told me...the PEACH cabana is located between the LIGHT BLUE (aka Sky Blue) and the PURPLE cabanas, next to the LIGHT BLUE one before the Water Sports area. The PURPLE cabana is on the other side of the Water Sports area.

Debjo

[willowoodf]

We were in the PINK cabana - it was actually quite pretty and none of the men seemed to mind it! Yes, we did tip! I don't think those butler's get much if anything of the money that we pay HAL for his services. And he worked his behind off running back and forth for drinks for 6 people!! He was great!

Mary

[Randyk47]

http://www.geocities.com/theklugspage/HMC_Map.jpg

Here's a map of HMC with the cabana locations and colors. Thanks to DW who put this together for our webpage. www.geocities.com/theklugspage (http://www.geocities.com/theklugspage)

[sunflowerstarr]

thanks willowoodf. i didnt know what i should do tipping wise and am so glad to hear that it was a great experience for you!

and thanks randy. everyone kept saying the tourquoise was closest to the bathrooms and thats something important to the people in our party. we ended up with the taupe whih i knew wasnt far but until i saw the map i didnt realize how close they were. best map ive seen on here so far!

[debjo]

HERE'S A "NEW" BUT COMPLICATED QUESTION...

We have four people in a cabana who want to get the BUTLER UPGRADE. We have a fifth person that might want to be added to the cabana, but doesn't want to participate in the BUTLER UPGRADE. Is it possible to have five people in the cabana (the original 4 people priced at $219 plus the additional person at $45 more) and have the original 4 people get the BUTLER UPGRADE at $270, but not have to pay the additional $100 more for the 5th person? We don't to be surprised with another $100 added to our on-board account for the 5th person getting a BUTLER UPGRADE if they don't want to use the BUTLER while they are sharing the cabana with the first 4 people.

Debjo

[crystal808]

You should definitely call Ship Services about this one...I'd expect that, if there are 5 people booked for the cabana, then a butler service upgrade will be for the same number. I wouldn't expect HAL to try to differentiate between "butler" and "non-butler" people in one cabana!!!

JMHO,
Paul

[bookworm0911]

Is it possible to have five people in the cabana (the original 4 people priced at $219 plus the additional person at $45 more) and have the original 4 people get the BUTLER UPGRADE at $270, but not have to pay the additional $100 more for the 5th person? We don't to be surprised with another $100 added to our on-board account for the 5th person getting a BUTLER UPGRADE if they don't want to use the BUTLER while they are sharing the cabana with the first 4 people.

Debjo
I don't see how it could possibly be monitored by the butler that the 5th person did not use any of the benefits he brought to the cabana for the other 4. How do you see this working without paying for the 5th person? :confused:

[spcl4cs_gal]

You should definitely call Ship Services about this one...I'd expect that, if there are 5 people booked for the cabana, then a butler service upgrade will be for the same number. I wouldn't expect HAL to try to differentiate between "butler" and "non-butler" people in one cabana!!!

JMHO,
Paul

The table that the butler has set for you lunch has enough seating for four people, unless you specify otherwise. If you book a cabana, HAL won't know if it is for four people, or forty unless you tell them. When I book mine online, they never ask how many will be using the cabana, but could check through your booking I suppose. Quite frankly when your 5th person sees the spread they do for your lunch with the butler, they will be wishing they had joined in.

[spcl4cs_gal]

http://www.geocities.com/theklugspage/HMC_Map.jpg

Here's a map of HMC with the cabana locations and colors. Thanks to DW who put this together for our webpage. www.geocities.com/theklugspage (http://www.geocities.com/theklugspage)

Is this map right?? We have always known the last cabana on the beach to be the terracotta cabana, not the brown one. So in order they are taupe, blue, turquoise, orange, sky blue, "peach", purple, pink, green, yellow, and terracotta.

Has the peach cabana been built yet?

[debjo]

For bookworm0911...
My sister would be the 5th person and she is a "beach" person. She doesn't want to be fussed over by a butler and would mostlikely wander over to the barbeque for lunch. We're thinking of "merging" the two "celebratory couples" into one cabana because we both want the BUTLER UPGRADE and the other members of our cruising group don't want to partake of a cabana now. Rather than leave my sister "without" a cabana now and relegated to a "clamshell", I thought it would be nice to pay the extra $45 for her to join the two "celebratory couples" in the one cabana. One of the "celebratory" couples will probably remain in the cabana the entire time at HMC...the other "celebratory" couple is planning to enjoy one of the HMC excursions during part of the day, as well as the "5th" person.

I know this is getting complicated now...things were easier when we were planning on having two cabanas. I guess I'll have to phone "ship services" as was previously suggested and run it past them. If we weren't all on such strict budgets, I'd just splurge and pay the extra $100 for the butler upgrade for my sister, whether she used it or not...but our current cruise budget won't allow that...unless we get another price drop in our booking! :-)

For spcl4cs gal...
As I previously posted...a HAL rep told me that the PEACH Cabana is a reality now and is located between the SKY BLUE & PURPLE Cabanas as you've listed. Guess we'll definitely find out when we get there in October! I am beginning to wish there were more HAL ships visiting HMC before we get there...I'm missing the latest "updates"!

Debjo

[Ziggy7]

If she is not going to eat the food, or drink the drinks then you dont need to include her.

[Ziggy7]

http://www.geocities.com/theklugspage/HMC_Map.jpg

Here's a map of HMC with the cabana locations and colors. Thanks to DW who put this together for our webpage. www.geocities.com/theklugspage (http://www.geocities.com/theklugspage)Randy, just so you know, there are only 10 cabanas and the one some call peach is the Orange Cabana and the one some call Brown is the terracotta one. This was confirmed last may by a friend. Also if you look at HALs listings you will only see Orange & Terracotta colors being offered :) No Brown or Peach :)

Here is the map I was given from May.
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a301/Ziggysmoney/Cabanas/HMC-777.jpg

[Randyk47]

Thanks. I'll get Mrs. K to fix her map. She took the "brown" off another map and looking at my pictures.....no way it's terra cotta but that's another story. As to peach....OK....except even we didn't have a peach. I think it's probably the "new" cabana between the purple and pink cabanas. It's been called terra cotta, ocra, baby dodo yellow.......:D but it sure doesn't look peach. :o

[spcl4cs_gal]

Regardless of colour or number, I just know that I am looking forward to March to get into my green one again. :D

[Ziggy7]

Regardless of colour or number, I just know that I am looking forward to March to get into my green one again. :DI agree, I'm looking forward to my turquoise cabana in Oct! Yay!!!!

[Ziggy7]

Thanks. I'll get Mrs. K to fix her map. She took the "brown" off another map and looking at my pictures.....no way it's terra cotta but that's another story. As to peach....OK....except even we didn't have a peach. I think it's probably the "new" cabana between the purple and pink cabanas. It's been called terra cotta, ocra, baby dodo yellow.......:D but it sure doesn't look peach. :oYeah I have heard it called brown red too LOL Never heard of the peach one till debjo mentioned it, I called and they told me that was the Orange one, so even the phone people dont know LOL

[debjo]

Well, the "mystery" continues...I guess I'll just have to take lots of pictures of the cabana color order when I get to HMC in October. It will be interesting to find out if the "Peach" one exists or if there are 11 instead of 10 cabanas.

On another note: I just talked with another one of the HAL Shore Excursion Reps on the phone today. Regarding my sister being added as the 5th person to our cabana of 4 people, the answer was "YES"...we can add her for the extra $45, but we DO NOT HAVE TO ADD HER for the Butler Upgrade that the original 4 of us want to get. When I asked if the Butler eliminated the Cabana Attendant, the answer was "yes" and that if my sister wanted to order some drinks, she would have to flag down a cabana attendant. She would also have to get her own lunch at the barbeque, but the cabana would be "stocked" for five people. I mentioned that I feared being "hit" with an additional charge of $100 (for the Butler Upgrade for my sister if she shared the cabana with the original four of us) and the HAL rep told me that we should not be charged the extra amount for the Butler if my sister doesn't partake of his services.

I must add that I never did receive the "email" answer that the HAL rep (I spoke with 10 days ago) said she would send...that is why I phoned HAL again today. I relayed all this information on to my cruise planner and asked her to talk with HAL about our particular situation. I figure if she gets the same affirmative answer that I got today, we should be in good shape for having five people in the cabana, but only four people getting the Butler Upgrade. I really hope this can work out because I don't want my sister to be relegated to a clamshell while everyone else is in a cabana. It is too bad that the other 3 members of our traveling party of 8 decided they didn't want a cabana afterall.

Debjo

[Randyk47]

Well.....here's a picture of one of the "mystery" cabanas. This is the one some folks call terra cotta, maybe peach, or who knows what. It's the cabana between the purple and the pink. I did take a picture of every cabana and my count is 11. :)

[spcl4cs_gal]

Well.....here's a picture of one of the "mystery" cabanas. This is the one some folks call terra cotta, maybe peach, or who knows what. It's the cabana between the purple and the pink. I did take a picture of every cabana and my count is 11. :)

That's definitely not the terra cotta cabana so maybe there is a peach one afterall.

[Randyk47]

This is a picture of the very last cabana. It too has a naming problem but most commonly is referred to as brown.

[spcl4cs_gal]

This is a picture of the very last cabana. It too has a naming problem but most commonly is referred to as brown.

That's the one I have always known as being terra cotta. By the way, you wouldn't have a picture of my green one would you? :D

[debjo]

For Randyk47...

Thanks for clearing up the "fact" that there are 11 total cabanas...now the "color" designations are still a bit confusing. I would call this cabana (that you've pictured between the pink & purple ones) as "yellow" as it appears in your picture...but then there already is a "yellow" one supposidly further down the beach-next to that "terra cotta" or last one.

I'll have fun photographing the different color cabanas when I get there in October!

Debjo

[Randyk47]

Here's the yellow and green cabanas.

[spcl4cs_gal]

Here's the yellow and green cabanas.

Thanks! :D

[watchdiva]

DH and I were in the new Peach cabana on our recent Westerdam cruise. We were waitlisted for any color cabana and when we arrived in our suite in March, there sat the coveted cabana tickets! I went directly down to Shore Ex to confirm since the tickets indicated Peach Cabana and to my knowledge, there WAS no peach cabana. He confirmed that it was new and lucky for us, we added on the butler package right then and there. It was just the two of us in the cabana and our butler was fantastic!

[Ziggy7]

DH and I were in the new Peach cabana on our recent Westerdam cruise. We were waitlisted for any color cabana and when we arrived in our suite in March, there sat the coveted cabana tickets! I went directly down to Shore Ex to confirm since the tickets indicated Peach Cabana and to my knowledge, there WAS no peach cabana. He confirmed that it was new and lucky for us, we added on the butler package right then and there. It was just the two of us in the cabana and our butler was fantastic!Woooohooooo thats awesome!!! Do you remember what colors it was between ???

[dimonzr4me]

DH just reserved the taupe cabana for our Dec 2 Zuiderdam cruise. This will make the private island so much nicer for us 2 girls since,we aren't sun worshippers and great for the 2 guys who can come and go from the beach, last time we were on the Z there were no cabanas!

[Green4me]

Hey dimonzr4me..

We have the Taupe booked for our December 16th trip on the Z. Still have not decided on the Buttler package but sounds like it is worth it.